The recovery of gold and other precious metals from ore encompasses a broad range of scientific research and is economically important to the United States. In mining applications, a large percentage of fine gold particles alloyed with various other materials remain uncovered after processing. These gold pieces are typically covered by a layer of silica that prevents the gold from being detected by conventional methods. Due to this silica layer, conventional leaching methods cannot penetrate through to the gold pieces and recover the complete amount of gold contained within the ore. Therefore, a new method to uncover and retrieve gold that reduces waste is essential. Also, there are many harmful safety and environmental concerns with past and present mining techniques, such as the use of cyanide for gold extraction. The present method also addresses the remediation of wastes by providing means of disintegrating cyanide molecules into non-harmful elements. Another application of the present inventive method is water purification which is vital to the economy of the United States, as well as to many rural environments across the world. In fact, in multiple locations around the world, the demand for fresh water exceeds supply. Since current water purification techniques require excessive amounts of energy, these methods have not been adapted or implemented as a solution to the clean water deficit. Even in the United States, the supply of clean water is inadequate to accommodate the rapidly growing demand. A stable domestic supply of clean water can isolate the United States from other countries that are still relying on expensive methods for water purity. Therefore, the demand for a new method and process applicable to water purification as well as precious metal mining is evident.